Mohamed Kounda

Aviator Marie Vallières de Beaumont goes on a journey to find her lover Bill Lancaster after his plane disappears in the Sahara. After her plane is forced down in the Ténéré she meets Lieutenant Antoine Chauvet of the French Camel Corps who joins in the hunt for Lancaster. As the two endure hardships in the desert, they begin to develop feelings for each other.

El Madani set out on an odyssey to discover the roots of the Gnawa music. Through concerts in Algeria, Morocco and France and interviews with Gnawa Diffusion’s Amzigh Kateb and Aziz Maysour, El Madani delves deep into the heart of traditional Moroccan and Algerian culture in a fascinating journey of custom and rituals across the Maghreb and Mali.

Director Mohamed Kounda's touching documentary, filmed over three years, captures the love-hate relationship between singer/trumpeter Chantz Powell - who does an uncanny imitation of Satchmo - and his formidable mother/manager Glinda, as Chantz tries to sell his talent to Europe and America.